Following the theme of a Mediterranean-style Thanksgiving Dinner, I wanted to serve another dish to compliment the lasagna and decided on borek (pronounced burick). Borek is a Turkish (the “Turkey” in our Thanksgiving Dinner) savory pie. I did a little research and some borek versions are made with meat and others with vegetables and cheese. I decided to combine them all and tested the recipe on the boys.

The pastry crust is usually made with yufka dough. According to the Internet, phyllo dough is very similar – so it must be true. I set both logs of frozen rolled dough on the countertop to thaw for at least two hours.

Brown 3 lbs. of ground meat in a large pot. While the meat cooks, chop 2 onions, 4 green peppers, 3 carrots, 3 celery ribs and 3 cloves of garlic. Drain the meat on paper towels and discard most of the grease in the pot. Using the same pot, sauté all the vegetables and add salt and pepper.

Add the meat back and add 1 tsp. each of crushed fennel, coriander and celery seeds, 2 tsp. ground cumin, 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh parsley and 2 cups red wine. Let all simmer on low for at least 20 minutes – taste and season as necessary. Meanwhile, shred 1 lb. Monterrey jack cheese, spray a 9×13″ baking pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare the egg-wash by whisking 5 eggs, 1 cup milk and 3⁄4 cup vegetable oil. I found it easiest to lay each thin piece of dough directly into the greased baking pan. The dough sheets will overlap each other as well as hang over the sides of the pan. Be sure to brush egg-wash liberally before adding overlapping layers.

Phyllo dough is tricky to work with, so make sure you don’t have dogs, kids or husbands underfoot when trying to complete this task. I ended up laying four sheets of dough across the bottom of the pan to form one layer and then added five similar layers, brushing liberally with the egg-wash.

Spoon half the vegetable-meat mixture onto the layered dough. Then add dollops of small-curd cottage cheese and half the shredded Monterrey jack. Take the dough that was allowed to hang over the sides of the pan and fold into the dish. Begin laying additional sheets of phyllo dough on top, allowing some to hang over the edges of the pan. I overlapped three sheets and made 6 layers – always using egg-wash between sheets.

Spread on the rest of the vegetable-meat mixture, cottage cheese and shredded cheese. Fold in the overlapping dough and finish the top of the dish with 6 more layers of overlapping egg-washed phyllo-dough sheets. Pour any remaining egg-wash over the top. Then sprinkle celery seeds, paprika, cumin, freshly ground black pepper and sesame seeds as the final topping. Whew! Bake for 10 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for another 35 minutes. Let the borek rest for 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

My son brought home collard greens from one of his customers at work and I cooked them with bacon, onions and garlic for a side dish. The borek, greens and a glass of mint tea made a very fine meal. I’ll probably tweak this dish a little more, but it will be a nice addition to a Mediterranean Thanksgiving Dinner.

I remember when I was about 10 years old and had vegetarian lasagna at my friend’s house. I had never heard of making lasagna with just vegetables, but I absolutely loved it.

Mrs. Laurain’s vegetarian lasagna
1 box lasagna noodles (approximately 10)
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli or cauliflower
1⁄2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp. oil
1 cup grated carrots
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1-1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups cottage cheese
1 lb. sliced Monterey jack cheese
1⁄4 cup Parmesan cheese

Over the years I’ve tried many lasagna recipes, but I always come back to that vegetarian one as my favorite. I’m making it for Thanksgiving dinner with my own flair and of course, I’m adding meat.

Start by preparing the green vegetables. Microwaving a 10-oz. pkg. of frozen chopped spinach is easiest, but I’ll clean, chop and cook Swiss chard instead. Microwave a 10-oz. pkg. of frozen chopped broccoli or cauliflower – I will purchase a small head of cauliflower, steam it and chop it. Once those vegetables are prepared, set aside while draining off all excess water.

Chop a medium-sized onion, grate about 3 carrots, mince a garlic clove and slice a large pkg. of mushrooms. Cook a pound of ground Italian sausage and remove with a slotted spoon. Add a Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan and sauté the raw vegetables, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Add the Italian sausage back to the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, paste and 1 cup of red wine and bring to a simmer.

Add 2 bay leaves, a tsp. each of oregano, chopped rosemary and crushed fennel seeds. Cover the pot and simmer on low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles. Grate mozzarella and Monterey jack cheese until you have about a pound total. Sometimes I use a combination of mozzarella and Swiss. I use small-curd cottage cheese, but ricotta is good too. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Drain the noodles and return them to the pot and cover with cool water – they’ll be easier to handle.

Begin layering with a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Using a paper towel, gently dry half the noodles and overlap them to cover the dish. Spread half the cottage cheese over the noodles and then spread half the spinach and cauliflower. Ladle half of the sauce mixture over the vegetables and then add half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the process starting with layering noodles. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake covered in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes, removing the cover for the last 10. The lasagna should be golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges. Let rest at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Mise en place (meez on plaus) is a French phrase meaning to “put in place.” Some recipes require almost constant attention and/or the process moves so quickly that the chef doesn’t have time to prep ingredients while cooking the dish. Mise en place encourages having ingredients prepped, measured, lined up and ready to go. Equipment – like a pot, spatula and immersion blender – is set out and at hand.
I made an incredibly rich and creamy beer-cheese soup that required constant stirring and heat management. With everything in place beforehand, the recipe went smoothly.

So, let’s start with mise en place:
• Fry 8-10 slices of bacon (or the entire package) – I often bake bacon in a 350-degree oven on a wire rack over a sheet pan – less mess. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the grease.
• Measure 4 tablespoons of butter.
• Dice a couple of onions, 4-5 carrots and 4-5 celery ribs.
• Mince 6 cloves of garlic.
• Set out a cup of flour.
• Measure 2 cups of beer. I used amber ale. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I tasted the ale first and it was pretty good. Don’t use a beer you don’t like. All the alcohol will be cooked out and it will have a fantastic flavor.
• Set out a quart of milk and a quart of chicken broth. Both need to be warmed since adding cold liquid will slow down the process.
• Get the bottle of Worcestershire sauce out of the fridge. About 2 tablespoons is needed, but just eyeball that amount.
• Shred 2.5 lbs. – yes, that’s right – of cheddar cheese. I used a combination of extra-sharp and mild cheddar, because that’s what I had.
• Of course, have salt and pepper ready for seasoning the soup.
• You’ll need a large heavy-bottomed pot and lid, a large spoon for stirring and an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, put it on your Christmas list. I use mine all the time.

Now that everything is in its place, begin by heating the reserved bacon grease and butter in the pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery – season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic and cook for about a minute.

The almost constant stirring begins as you add the flour and cook for a few minutes until it is incorporated with the vegetables. Add the beer and keep stirring. Once that’s blended in, add the milk, chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce and turn the heat up to medium-high. Keep stirring and bring the liquid to a simmer. Then turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes – and don’t forget to stir.

Purée with an immersion blender directly in the pot. A blender or food processor can be used, but you’ll need to let the liquid cool first and then bring it back up to heat before the next step.

With the pot over medium-low heat, add the cheese slowly and stir constantly. Never let the liquid come to a boil while adding the cheese. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread or croutons, bacon, carrot or celery sticks, apple slices or anything that can be dipped. The soup is so smooth and creamy, it’s like a fondue.

I kept expecting rain on Sunday, but never received any. However, my anticipation spurred me to play in the kitchen rather than outside. I wanted to try a recipe for hot pepper butter. While working through the details of that, I made a terrific white bean soup. That’s what’s for dinner.

Since dinner was decided on the spur of the moment, the “quick-cook method” was used rather than soaking the Great Northern beans overnight. Cooking the full 2 lb-bag makes sense for us because leftovers rarely go to waste at our house. The other really great thing about the dinner is how incredibly inexpensive it is?

Sorting through a bag of beans, cull out the strangely shaped and mottled-colored ones. I didn’t find any clods of dirt, but have in the past and believe that sorting through beans is worth the effort. Rinse the beans off in a colander then pour them into a large pot; cover with 3 quarts of water; put on a lid and bring to a boil. After two minutes or so, turn the burner off and let the beans sit for an hour. During that time I thawed frozen chicken stock.

After an hour, drain the beans in the colander and rinse very well with cool water. Returning the beans to the pot, cover in chicken stock and water to equal 3 quarts and bring back to a boil. At boiling, add seasonings. I added salt, pepper, 3 bay leaves and 1.5 teaspoons each of cumin seeds and celery seeds. Cover the pot and turn down to a simmer for another hour, stirring occasionally.

I decided to add onions, celery and garlic to the soup. In a skillet, spray a small amount of olive oil and sauté a large chopped onion and three ribs of chopped celery. Don’t forget to lightly salt and pepper. Mince a couple garlic cloves, cook the vegetables for another couple of minutes and add all to the pot of beans.

Wanting more color, I picked a large bunch of kale from my garden. After cleaning and cutting away the tough stems, chop the kale into small pieces and add to the pot. Taste the beans and liquid. Add salt if necessary and check the beans to determine if they are done. Mine were still a little tough and that’s good because I wanted the kale to cook.

After another 20 minutes, I checked the beans again and they were perfectly tender yet firm. Dinner was meatless but full of vitamins and protein from the beans, vegetables and chicken stock. A vegetarian could use vegetable stock instead and still have a hearty, healthy meal.

While dinner was a success, I think my hot pepper butter recipe is going to need more work. I’ll keep playing with that and when I’m happy with the results, I’ll share.

Choosing the right cut of meat is very important when making a roast. I usually make pot roasts for several reasons. The cut of meat is cheaper, more readily found at the grocery store and I like the simplicity of one-pot meals. However I’ve been craving good roast beef. Prime rib is heavenly but expensive and I didn’t even see one at the store. I was looking for a round that could be cooked using dry heat and only saw very thin cuts. Not what I wanted in a roast. I ended up buying a 3-lb. chuck tender roast.

Chuck tender sounds like an oxymoron to me – you know like jumbo shrimp. I was hoping that maybe on the chuck-toughness scale, this one would be at the more-tender end. I decided to braise the roast which uses both dry heat and moist heat to cook.

I took the roast out of the fridge and let it sit while I quartered two onions and slivered garlic cloves. Using a thin knife, I cut slots in the roast and pushed in the garlic slivers. I liberally seasoned the roast with salt and pepper.

Finding a large oven-safe pot, I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on the stovetop and seared the onion quarters at a high heat. Removing the onions, I then seared all the sides of the roast. Getting a nice caramelized surface on the meat is important to both the look and flavor of the finished roast.

When all sides have been seared, I removed the roast and added 3⁄4 cups of a good red wine to deglaze the pot. I added the onion quarters back to the pot and place the roast on top and I included three bay leaves. I covered the pot with a tight lid and placed it in a 300-degree oven for about an hour.

Earlier I had made French bread dough in my bread machine to save my having to do all the kneading. So, I shaped it into two loaves and let them rise while the roast cooked. I also made basil pesto to serve with the bread or to garnish the roast. Then I prepared the smashed potatoes I’d be serving with the roast and cleaned Swiss chard for a side.

After an hour the roast’s internal temperature was at 135 degrees. I put it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until it came to 155 degrees. I let the roast rest for a full 30 minutes to make it easier to slice very thin. I baked the French bread and wilted the chard in olive oil with onions, garlic and red pepper flakes.

The roast was very tasty. It was not as tender as a better cut of meat would have been, but it wasn’t like eating shoe leather either. Slicing it very thin against the grain and serving it with its own pan sauce made for a rather tender chuck roast.

Chicken and rice is a classic dish. Most versions use some kind of creamy soup. Since I’m trying to avoid processed foods that may contain chemicals and preservatives, I’m using my own canned pasta sauce. If you haven’t started canning yet (just kidding, I’m a novice), you could substitute store-bought cans of fire-roasted tomatoes or the pasta sauce of your choice. I’m also trying to make lighter dinners that are quick and easy to clean up. This recipe is lower in fat and only gets two pots dirty.

I set out 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to thaw while cooking enough rice in low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth to make 8 cups. Choose any kind of rice you like. Then thinly slice two large onions and 3-4 bell peppers. In an oven-safe pan, sauté the onions and bell peppers in 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the stove-top. Always lightly salt and pepper to bring out the flavors. Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for another minute. Scoop the vegetable mixture into the pot of rice and stir together.

Return the empty pot to the stove and add olive oil to the pot if needed. Slice each chicken breast horizontally – there will be 8 thin pieces. Season both sides with Creole seasoning or just salt and pepper if you prefer. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides in the hot oil. Since the chicken is thin, it cooks very quickly. Remove the chicken to a plate.

The oven-safe pot may have some stuck-on pieces of chicken or vegetable, so deglaze with 1⁄2 cup of white wine or chicken broth. Scoop the rice mixture into the pot and then nestle the 8 pieces of chicken on top of the rice. Pour a quart jar or 30-32 oz. of pasta sauce on top of all. When I made my jarred sauce, I seasoned it. If you are using store-bought sauce, taste and make sure it is properly seasoned. Add salt or pepper now if necessary.
Slice or shred 6-8 oz. of low-fat mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese. Evenly top the sauce with cheese. Cover the pot and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 10 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and the sides are bubbling. (While dinner baked, I cleaned up the kitchen.) Let the pot sit while preparing a simple side salad and serve with low-fat dressing or your own homemade vinaigrette.

Since I’m trying to be more aware of my intake, I considered a serving to be 3/4 cup rice and 1 thin piece of chicken. The sauce and cheese make the dish taste hearty and the salad helps to fill the plate. This dish allows my husband and me to eat lighter while my son Ben, who certainly is not on a diet, will have plenty for seconds. After dinner, I put away leftovers, loaded the dishwasher and hand-washed the remaining pot – light, quick and easy.

Apple or other fruit crumbles are dessert favorites, but how about a savory tomato crumble for dinner? I ran across a recipe for one in a baking catalog and it looked interesting. It appeared to be a little bland – no onions, thyme, oregano – so I decided to rev it up with my own version.  

Caramelized onions add richness to most savory dishes so I started with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter heating over medium heat in a large pot on the stove. I thinly sliced 3 medium-sized onions and added them with salt and pepper to the pan. Don’t let the onions burn, but instead slowly cook over lower heat and stir occasionally to make sure they are not sticking. After about 15 minutes, add a bay leaf and about 1 teaspoon each of dried thyme and oregano.  

As the onions continue to cook, dice 3 garlic cloves and chop 10-12 medium-sized tomatoes with skins removed. After the onions have cooked for about 30 minutes, they should be a nice brown color. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes. Add about 3 tablespoons of flour, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and stir. Reduce the heat to low and let the pot simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.

Remove the tomato mixture from the heat and incorporate about a pint of cherry tomatoes or tomatoes chopped into bite-sized pieces. Spray a shallow casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in the tomato mixture.  

For the crumble topping, mix together 2 cups plain bread crumbs, 1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes and 1 stick melted butter. Spoon the crumble over the top of the tomatoes in an even layer. Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until the topping is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.  

I served the tomato crumble with a spinach salad for Sunday night’s dinner. This recipe is a keeper and would also go well as a side dish for baked fish – I’m thinking salmon.